


Brightheart Guild: Origins

by BluFox3543



Series: Guild Wars: The Brightheart Guild [1]
Category: Guild Wars (Video Game), Guild Wars 2 (Video Game), Guild Wars Series (Video Games)
Genre: (they aren’t important in this fic), Amputation, Angst, Commander Rayheart’s Cooking Skills, Disabled Characters, Diseases, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Lucille Is a Bad Influence, Lucille Won’t Throw Away Cadence’s Arm, Magic, Many Hjinks Ensue, Minor Relationships, Multi, Pact Commander - Freeform, Pre-teens - Freeform, Rayana Is So Done, Reincarnation, Run-aways, Teenagers, These Children are Precious, Training, cuz one is missing an arm and another has EDS, don’t worry everything gets better, guild, guild as family, implied PTSD, injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:48:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluFox3543/pseuds/BluFox3543
Summary: The world of Tyria is full on many things: different races, different magics... different guilds.This is the story of one of those guilds, or rather, the story of how a group of teens formed a new family.The Brightheart Guild is more than it appears, and so are it’s members.
Relationships: Original Female Character(s) & Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s) & Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s), Original Male Character(s) & Original Male Character(s)
Series: Guild Wars: The Brightheart Guild [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034316
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue: A New Guild’s Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first GW2 based fic! This is essentially the story behind a few of my GW2 (and even GW1) characters.  
> These characters do not have a strong relation to the main plot of the game, and have their own, independent stories. Occasionally, they might be intertwined with part of the game’s story, but they are side characters in these situations (at least currently).  
> Please enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my first GW2 based fic! This is essentially the story behind a few of my GW2 (and even GW1) characters.  
> These characters do not have a strong relation to the main plot of the game, and have their own, independent stories. Occasionally, they might be intertwined with part of the game’s story, but they are side characters in these situations (at least currently).  
> Please enjoy!

Across the world of Tyria, there are many guilds. They all have different purposes, are known for different things.

Ask the people of Tyria about guilds, and you’ll find a large array of responses. Some will speak of Destiny’s Edge, a guild known for the defeat of the dragonspawn and for their reunion to help slay the Elder Dragon Zhaitan. Other will speak of Dragon’s Watch, created by the (now former) Pact Commander, Lara Rayheart, working to fight the threats that Tyria faces and help the Elder Dragon Aurene keep peace. A few might even speak of guilds from the past, such as Triple Star, who were legendary heroes in the past.

But ask the right people in the right places, and you’ll hear whispers of a new guild. A guild who comes to rescue others from disaster, who provides food and shelter to those who have lost everything else, a guild who believes that anyone can do good, no matter their age or race.

They are called the Brightheart Guild. And when examining the Brightheart Guild, there are a few things one might notice that are out of the ordinary. 

The first thing to note is that the majority of the members are teens, or even preteens.

As stated earlier, they believe that anyone can make a difference, no matter their age or race. Most of them came from difficult backgrounds, experiencing hardship until they found each other, and decided they’d help others who experienced hardships as they had.

The second is that they’ve all taken the surname Brightheart.

They have become a family to each other, and use the name as a way to connect them all, to show that they belong together. They may be cobbled together from different parts, but they are family.

The third is that the guild leader is rather strange.

Lucille Brightheart, leader of the Brightheart guild and one of its founders, is somewhat of an enigma. On the surface, she’s a bright, preppy energetic 14 year old girl. She’s fairly strong, but is generally around average. She has high charisma, and boosts her fellow guild members up. But when you go deeper, things get strange. She has moments where she shows an extreme understanding of battle strategy, she can analyze a person in a second, and some have claimed to see her show great power and fighting prowess, above her usual performance. She seems to know things others don’t, and had contacts in high places. If rumors are to be believed, one of these contacts is the Commander herself.

In all, the Brightheart Guild is a strange group, but one who values the lives of others and aims to protect.

This is the story of the Brightheart Guild. Rather, it is the story of those who make up its ranks, and how they came to join such a strange group.

This is the legacy of heroes from the past, as it intertwines with heroes of the future.

**_This is the Brightheart Origins._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading this!  
> If you want more of my content (though there isn’t that much, admittedly), check my tumblr out!  
> @blufox.3542 - my main blog  
> @commander-rayheart-needs-therapy - my gw2 specific blog


	2. Lucille: Training Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The introduction of the guild leader, Lucille Brightheart, and a look into how she got where she is today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things I want to clear up before this starts:  
> This fic takes place in 2 different times.  
> The present part takes place around the beginning of the Icebrood Saga, somewhere between ‘Bound By Blood’ and ‘Whispers in the Dark.’ The guild is currently active with all of the members (at least who are in this storry) having joined.  
> The past part takes place around the middle of Path of Fire, around act 2 (right before the Commander gets killed by Balthazar). The guild has not been created at this point, and is not active.  
> The missing information is missing for a reason. It will be expanded on in the future. However, if something is extremely confusing, please let me know so I can fix it up.

Lucille collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Her clothes and armor were soaked by her sweat, and her skin was flushing red.

After a few seconds, she took a deep breath, sighing and opening her eyes to look at the sky. As she looked at the vast blue scene above, littered with fluffy white clouds and green leaves stemming from tree branches, a figure started to loom above her.

“That was some good work. Your speed has somehow increased, which I didn’t think possible. You’re also doing well in regards to analyzing your opponents. I’d say you just need to work on making your switches between fighting styles less choppy.”

The pale woman held out her crystalline hand, which Lucille took, and helped the teen up.

“Thanks Auntie-La!” Lucille beamed out a bright smile at the praise and suggestions. “You also were doing incredible too! I was not prepared for you to throw crystals at me, it really caught me off guard!”

The tall woman smiled fondly. “I figured I should implement more of the crystals into my fighting. It’d be on brand for the Champion of Aurene.”

Lucille gave a little snort. “Oh great Commander, Champion of Aurene, believer in keeping her looks up.”

Commander Lara Rayheart rolled her eyes before ruffling Lucille’s hair. “Ok, you little twerp, let’s go to the guildhall and I’ll make a good snack, ok?”

Lucille’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Yes! Please, your food is soooooo gooooood!” She clutched onto Lara’s sleeves, staring into her crystalline purple eyes.

“Alright then, let’s get you back home.”

-

Lucille was only 6 years old when her aunt Lara took up the mantle of the Pact Commander and lead the assault on Zhaitan, proving that Elder Dragons could be killed.

She was 9 when the Pact was laid waste in Maguuma and Commander Rayheart killed Mordremoth, and also became Aurene’s Champion, before giving up her position in the Pact to form Dragon’s Watch.

She was 11 when Commander Rayheart journeyed to the Crystal Desert and Elona to face the rouge god, Balthazar, dying and returning from the dead in the process.

She was also 11 when she started having strange dreams.

The dreams were scenes of the past, events that were both well known legends and lost to times.

And they gave her information she shouldn’t have known.

-

Lucille bit into the empanada before her, savoring the taste. The combination of Krytan sweet corn and hatched chili peppers from the Blood Legion Homelands was incredible, but that addition of both Maguuman and Elonian spices is what pushed it over the edge from great to incredible. Every single flavor was distinct and unique, but they still all meshed together into something wonderful.

Most people couldn’t imagine the Commander cooking something, but Lara was actually an incredibly talented chef. Those who knew her well (and by well, I mean extremely well) knew that her childhood dream was to have her own restaurant. It was actually her dream even now, but she saw her role as the Commander and Champion of Aurene as much more important than her dreams of being a chef.

That didn’t mean she didn’t practice, though. Far from it. She often cooked at home for her family. When she began helping Lucille with combat training, she also decided that it was the perfect opportunity to give her cooking lessons as well (it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that she was tired of Lucille constantly begging her to make food and wanted her to just cook her own food, absolutely not).

It was a nice bonding activity for the two, and a good way to cal down after a fight. Besides, the product of it was food, and food can be really wonderful after a good fight.

“So, how’ve you been?”

Lucille looked up from her food, staring her aunt in the eyes, then smiled sweetly. “I’ve been good! I’ve been working hard, taking care of myself, just doing what I can to balance between work and play.” Lucille gave a smirk. “It’s all better when I get to hang out with the coolest aunt in the world.”

“It’s only fun because you’re my favorite niece.”

“I’m your only niece!”

“Therefore, you’re obviously my favorite,” Lara chuckled.

Lucille stuck out her tongue, only for Lara to stick hers out in retaliation, before the two of them burst into laughter.

After they calmed down, Lucille looked into the dual toned purple eyes with concern.

“Have you been taking proper care of yourself?”

Lara sighed, knowing she couldn’t escape this. “If I lied, you’d figure it out, so no, I guess I really haven’t.” She tensed up a bit, her eyes losing focus as she absently looked into the distance. “I’ve been stressed honestly. This whole situation is stressful. Dealing with a Charr civil war is bad enough on its own, but one that involves an Elder Dragon? And a persuasive one at that?” She let out a breathe she had been holding in, looking down.

“Hey, the first step is admitting it. We’re here for you, ok?” Lucille put a comforting hand on the pale woman’s back, rubbing it in circular motions.

Lara looked up, pride in her eyes. “Thanks Lucy. I’m really proud of how far you’ve come.”

-

“I remember it all now.”

Everything had finally come back to her. The missing gaps in her mind that she always felt but never understood had finally been filled, the puzzle pieces slipping into place.

“So, it isn’t a lie? You aren’t just some weirdo trying t take our daughter?” Ariana stood up, looking at the mysterious blindfolded woman, Leo standing right besides her.

“I mean, yes. I did tell you that. Besides, why would I want to capture her?” The blindfolded woman paused. “Oh, your sister is the Commander, right? I guess it would make sense as to why anyone would want to come after her. I thought that was a well guarded secret, though.”

Ariana was slightly taken aback by the woman’s casual mentioning of her relation to the Commander. “Yeah, it is. But I guess you don’t really care about that.” The woman shook her head no, her intricate earrings jingling a slight bit.

Leo stepped forwards a bit, which was surprising as he wasn’t one to get extremely involved in something. Unless it involved his family, of course. “So how even are we supposed to handle this? What do we need to do in this situation. Does...” he choked up on his words, “Does she need to leave us?”

The room went silent.

Lucille was staring down at her hands. Or was she Rosy? She didn’t know. She had the memories of two lifetimes, one in progress and the other completed. So who was she?

And in that moment, she looked up. She looked up at the woman with a blindfold, who had been her closest confidant, and the one she trusted to protect her in her next life. She looked up at here parents, who had always been there for her, giving her the life she had always wished she could have in the past. And it clicked.

“I’m still me. This... doesn’t change who I am. The entire time I’ve been here, I’ve been myself, just minus a few memories.” She her eyes were wet with tears that had yet to fall. “I’m not going to leave. You’re my parents. Maybe I’ll start training earlier, and maybe I’ll end up in... special situations, but you’re my family.”

The eerie silence returned to the room, until it was broken by a relieved sob from Ariana, who tackled her daughter, followed by Leo. The family of three embraced each other in a group hug, sobbing but also smiling, and even laughing.

The blindfolded woman watched on, smiling to herself.

 _“You’ve always been such a sap,”_ Rayana thought to herself.

-

Lucille flopped onto her bed, breathing out a deep sigh of contentment. After a few moments lying down, she sat back up, taking a few pictures from her nightstand.

The first showed her when she was just a young child, celebrating her 5th birthday with her parents and aunts. There was cake smeared across everyone’s faces, but Lucille had the most on her.

The second was a picture from a month ago, featuring everyone from the Brightheart Guild in the main hall, all having a dance party together.

The third... the third was old and worn. It showed a group of 15 people lined up, posing for the image. Standing out among them, near the front of the group, were three people. A woman with brown hair that had a streak of turquoise matching her armor, and tan skin kissed by freckles. A woman with crow black hair and extremely pale olive skin, her silver blindfold matching her silver clothes. A woman with jet black hair and icy blue eyes, and rosy porcelain skin that fit with her lilac garments.

Lucille sighed softly. She’d really come a long way, hadn’t she? She really hadn’t thought the whole ‘reincarnation’ thing would work, but in the end, it did, and she could keep protecting people. She looked back to the photo of her guild - no, her family - and smiled.

She had a new family, who were so much like her old one, who would fight besides her to protect the world from harm.

She had parents who loved her, who supported her. She had aunts who helped her train and learn about the world, more than she’d ever known before.

She was so happy.

The door to her room opened, some of her guildmates standing outside. “Hey Lucy, we’re gonna test out some of the new golems the twins made. You in?”

Lucille gave a mischievous smile back. “Is it even a question?” She got up, off of the bed, and followed the others, ready for whatever they future held for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!  
> Lucille’s secrets will be elaborated on someday in the future, but for now I’m just gonna leave it barely within reach to tempt you all.  
> Next chapter focuses on the next member!  
> Let me know your thoughts, if you please!


	3. Nikolas: Lay and Remain Forgotten, or Take My Hand and Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of Nikolas Ravinet, and how he changed the course of his life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things to note:  
> This chapter mainly takes place two months after the past section of the previous chapter.  
> The Brightheart Guild has still not formed.  
> Parts of this chapter will be important later.

The Ravinet family wasn’t the most prestigious of noble families, but they were well known.

Of course, ‘well known’ wasn’t good enough for them.

When it comes to the nobles of Kryta, there are often two ways things can go. Some nobles, such as Lord Faren, are actively trying to help, even if they’re doing so out of a want for glory rather than a desire to protect. They do not look down on the common folk, or those who are not human. They are kind, and though they still vale prestige, they will not step on others to get ahead

The second type are more foul. They crave power and control, and will do anything to get ahead, to get more fame or fortune. They will hurt others, they will look down on others, and they don’t care who they have to hurt to get what they want. If one wants a good example of thi, they need only to refer to the case of Minister Beetlestone, who is infamous for his actions.

The Ravinet’s were the second type of family. They wanted the best, they deserved the best. So they were going to get the best.

As such, some of their children were more favored than the others. The prodigies who excelled at anything they did, the strong ones who showed potential to become notable heroes, they ones who practically breathed politics, taking everything in and learning how to twit words.

Nikolas wasn’t any of those.

He was one of the middle children, lost in a sea of siblings competing to be te best, to gain their parents approval.

But he was an outlier from the rest, given that he honestly didn't give a dan about whether his parents noticed him or not. He wouldn’t do something because they wanted him to, but rather because he enjoyed it.

He liked reading stories of the past. He liked drawing the ideas that came into his head. He liked spending time with animals and befriending them. He liked playing the violin.

And, oh, it was the violin that caused the mess.

Nikolas was a musical prodigy. He was incredibly skilled, and took up instruments quickly, uing his mastery to tug at one’s heart. He mostly played for the animals population that had begun to follow him around, but eventually his parents heard him.

And so, Nikolas was suddenly put in a box, forced to do what his family wanted.

There were concerts, so many concerts, and he was only prepared for them because of the constant practicing and practicing and practicing.

It wasn’t all bad. He made a friend.

Petunia Castorm was a singer around his age who he would work with occasionally. The Castorm family was one of the most prestigious of the nobles families, and also one of the most vicious, especially since the war against the White Mantle when many of the traitorous noble families were dealt with.

The two teens bonded over a shared plight, an understanding of the want to escape to somewhere else, to leave everything behind.

And then Nikolas got lucky.

His little sister showed great promise as a possible Minister, having an air of charisma and grasping onto politics.

So Nikolas’s parents stopped paying as much attention to him. Practices were cut shorter, concerts were farther apart, until there was nothing.

So Nikolas took the opportunity to leave, setting out to discover himself.

-

It turns out that living in the woods is not easy.

Nikolas had been surviving on wild berries and the occasional bit of meat from animals he’d hunted for the past 5 days.

He was getting rather tired, very reasonably so, as it was essentially he eep alert at all times, even night.

Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.

Nikolas was always good with animals of any type. As such, he was able to gain some animal companions during his time in the forest. One of these animal friends was a young brown bear who he’d named Leaf. He’d admit, he’s not the best at names. Still, leaf was a very loyal companion. Nikolas had found her near the bodies of her family, left all alone. Of course, he’d helped the poor thing, and in turn gained a new fuzzy friend.

However, a bear on his side wasn’t enough to guarantee his safety. Case and point: he was currently running for his life from a group of centaurs who had found him.

He was running on pure adrenaline, sprinting as fast as he could with Leaf besides him, trying to dodge arrows that had been aimed at him.

He was doing pretty well for himself in his opinion, considering this was his first time running for his life. Well, he was doing well, until an arrow finally hit its target, piercing through his ankle.

Nikolas screamed out in pain, falling to the ground. He tried to back up, to get away from the approaching threat, but it was too late.

The group of centaurs surrounded him, giving him no chance of escape.

_ “This is it,”  _ he thought,  _ “this is how I die.” _

And so Nikolas closed his eyes, preparing for cold steel to meet warm flesh, for his life to be cut short where no one would find him. He listened as a sword was swung, and it hit something, a loud clang resonating out.

_ “Wait, I don’t feel anything.” _

He opened his eyes, and to his surprise, he was no longer alone. Before him was a young girl, looking to be around his age, with lightly tanned skin kissed with swarms of freckles, her long orange hair held in a high ponytail. She was wielding a sword and shield, which had blocked the sword that was meant to end Nikolas’s life.

Before he could say anything, the girl shot up, twirling through the air, as she jumped from foe to foe and struck them all down. The bodies of his centaur perecuers hit the forest floor, going limp, and the girl turned round to face him, a sternness in her chartreuse eyes, but it quickly faded to one of compassion and concern. She knelt down before him looking him directly in the eyes, a reassuring smile on her face.

“Don’t worry, the threat is gone!” She looked towards his ankle, which was bloodied, the arrow from before sticking out through the front of his foot. “That looks pretty serious; you probably can’t walk. I’m gonna take you to my home so we can clean the wound and patch you up, is that ok?” She tilted her head as she asked the question, almost glowing with an aura of safety.

Nikola blushed, then looked away. “Uh, yeah, that’s fine with me. Can… Can Leaf come though?”

The girl tapped her chin in confusion. “Leaf?”

Before Nikolas could respond, Leaf came running through the trees, letting out a roar of worry, before plopping herself on Nikolas and rubbing her head against her cheek, much to the surprise of the girl. “Uh, yeah, this is Leaf.”

The girl giggled sweetly, before nodding. “Of course she can come along. We don’t want her worrying about you, do we?” She turned her head towards Leaf. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna help him get all better, ok? But I need you to get off of him so I can take him to safety.”

Leaf seemingly understood, as she got up from on top of Nikolas, moving to the side. The girl leaned down, picking him up bridal style, with a small “hup!” as she did so. Nikolas blushed a bit from the proximity, as the girl started walking.

“I don’t believe I introduced myself… my name is Nikolas, but you can call my Nik if you want.”

The redhead beamed at him, her smile as warm as the sun. “Nice to meet you, Nik! I’m Lucille, but you can call my Lucy!”

“Nice to meet you as well, Lucy.”

-

After a few hours of running through the forest, the two of them (and Leaf) made it to a hill before a grassy clearing, a small village below them. Lucille rushed down, making sure Nikolas was stable as they descended, then ran towards one of the houses, kicking the door in.

“HEY DAD, I FOUND A RANDOM KID IN THE WOODS WHO GOT SHOT!”

At that, a blonde man with verdant green eyes emerged from one of the rooms, which Nikolas assumed was the kitchen by the smell, and took a moment to look the two over in shock. It didn’t last long, as he quickly rushed into another room as Lucile laid him down on their couch. The green eyed man returned, a healing kit in hand.

“Ok, kid, I’m going to remove the arrow, but this is going to hurt a lot, ok?” The man looked at him with concerned eyes, which very much resembled Lucille’s.

Nikolas nodded, preparing himself for the pain. Apparently he wasn’t prepared enough, as when the arrow came out, a shock rippled through his body from his ankle, and he screamed out. The other two didn’t seem to mind it though, likely understanding that he couldn’t help it.

“Alright, I’m going to get to work on cleaning then bandaging this up. I can heal it a bit too, but not fully. After that, we’ll see about getting you back home, ok?”

Nikolas frowned a bit, worried about the implications. He’d run away from home after all. He didn’t want to go back. However, if he told the man, he might be sent back anyways. Still, it was worth a shot.

“I, uh, ran away from home… I don’t want to go back…”

To his surprise, the man simply nodded. “Alright then. I guess you’ll be staying with us for a few days then.”

Nikolas was shocked. “You’re not sending me back?”

Lucille came closer, smiling at him. “Nope! Dad gets it, he got kicked out by his family when he was younger.” The man simply nodded in confirmation as he continued to dress Nikolas’s wound.

“I haven’t introduced myself,” he said as he sprinkled water on his ankle - Nikolas didn’t see where it came from, and his wound healed a bit from the contact; was the man an elementalist? - “My name is Leo. You’ve met my daughter, Lucille, and my wife, Arianna, isn’t here right now.”

“The name seemed familiar to Nikolas, he could have sworn he heard of someone named Leo who was kicked out as well, but he couldn’t remember the details.

“I’m Nikolas. Uh, I’m from the Ravinet family.”

Leo sighed at that. “Well I see why you ran away. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here.” He gave a sweet smile, which helped calm Nikolas’s nerves.

Things were silent from that point, aside from Leo occasionally explaining the different tasks he was performing to handle the wound.

“And it’s all done! I’m going to make some food for you kids, go ahead and talk. I’ll be back soon.” Leo left the room, returning to the kitchen to make snacks. Nikolas looked up at Lucille, who was shooting him an excited smile.

“Thank you for saving me,” Nikolas said quietly.

“It was no problem!” Lucille bounced in her seat. “I’m glad I came across you in time!”

Nikolas looked up at the girl, his face flushing a small bit. “You were pretty cool. I’ve been thinking about learning how to fight as well, but-“

He was cut off as Lucille gasped, her eyes starry and wide. “We could train together! That way you can learn to protect yourself!”

Nikolas flustered, not sure how to respond. “Are-Are you sure?”

“Of course!” She giggled a bit. “I’d love to work with someone. We’ll be great training partners, if you’ll join me!”

Nikolas smiled a bit. “Yeah, I’d love to!”

“Great! We’ll wait until you’re healed of course.” Her eyes moved towards his ankle, but then returned back to his own eyes. “I’m excited to work with you!”

“Yeah,” he murmured, “me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time we get to the actual founding of the guild!


End file.
